Hundreds flock to Tipton for total solar eclipse

Apr. 9—TIPTON — The difference between Dallas and Tipton?

Cloud coverage.

That's how Alex Bolia and Tonya Seward from Colorado Springs, Colorado, landed on Tipton as their total solar eclipse location.

"We came all the way here because the weather was better here than in Dallas," Bolia said.

They packed up their Mini Countryman adorned with a weather vane Saturday and hit the road for the heart of Indiana.

"(Tipton) was pleasant and beautiful on the map," Bolia said.

The Colorado Springs couple arrived at 2 a.m. Monday morning and slept in their car.

It wasn't too bad, given high hotel prices and the queen-sized memory foam mattress in the back of their car.

They were on the receiving end of some Hoosier hospitality as the folks at Love's Travel Stop recommended Tipton City Park. Monday afternoon, the two set up in the back of the park, armed with laptops, cameras and 3D-printed solar filters that allowed their tech to capture images of the sun.

The cameras clicked away as the moon creeped in front of the sun.

For all the equipment the hobbyists brought, they realized Monday morning walking out of the Tipton McDonald's they didn't have eclipse glasses. Luckily, a pop-up tent across the street sold them for cheap.

Bolia and Seward were two of hundreds of people — many from out of state — who flocked to Tipton City Park to take in the total solar eclipse.

A stroll through the park saw people from all walks of life and licenses plates from across the country. For every Indiana plate, there were ones from Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Minnesota and as far away as Texas.

Mary Louise Lillian kept a list on her phone of the states she spotted. She and her husband Darron came from Waukesha, Wisconsin, to see their first eclipse.

Their son Todd Lillian and his family live in West Lafayette. The total solar eclipse was a chance for family time.

The Lillian family had blankets, snacks and chairs as they spent the afternoon, and morning, at the park. They arrived sometime after 10:30 a.m.

"We were some of the first people here," Mary Louise said.

The car ride down featured scary stories about the eclipse from the Lillian children.

"I told my brother there was a monster that will eat the sun and throw it back up," said Rose, one of Todd's daughters.

Tipton's small-town nature is why the Lillians chose it as their eclipse destination.

"We didn't want to be on the interstate," Todd said. "This was far enough into the zone of totality."

Same goes for Sheila Wettstein.

"We wanted a small town to watch the eclipse and to avoid most of the people," said the woman from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, as she waited in line at the only port-a-potty at the park.

A woman from Brookfield, a village west of Chicago, nodded her head in agreement.

Wettstein waited in line with her 9-year-old son Henry. He skipped school to see his first eclipse. Wettstein had a friend who saw the 2017 total solar eclipse, and it inspired her to make the most of the 2024 opportunity.

"This was a last-minute trip for us," she said. "It's the only time we'll be able to do it when he's a kid. And we like surprises."

They drove down from Logansport, where they spent the night for a cheaper $130 compared to the $300 and $400 rooms closer to the path of totality.

People applied sunscreen, walked their dogs, a group of older women played cards at a table, others set up telescopes and there were more than a few grills.

John Pokorney leaned against the back of his truck with North Carolina plates. A former Indiana teacher who retired to Sparta, North Carolina, Pokorney arrived last week in Logansport to visit family. The favorable weather drew him to Tipton.

The Totality in Tipton event took place across the street at Tipton High School where there was food, games, a car show and live music courtesy of Stone, Water and Steel and Second Chance.

The event was put on by the city and Tipton Community School Corporation. Volunteers handed out eclipse glasses. People mingled between the high school and the park. Children played on the playground.

The longer the afternoon went, the more people looked up at the sun through their glasses as the moon made its pass.

An almost haze appeared to set in as the moon blocked out more of the sun. Color tones seemed different.

As totality approached, people collectively stopped what they were doing. Full attention was directed at the sky.

The air turned cool.

"Just a teeny tiny bit!" said a voice somewhere in the park when only a sliver of sunlight remained.

The park's streetlights turned on. Dogs barked.

Then, totality.

The entire park cheered as people removed their glasses to stare at the sun.

In those couple minutes of totality, a lifetime of memories was created.

Lights out on the links

Across Cicero Creek, a beautiful day called for 18 holes.

Carlos Whitaker was on the 11th hole at Tipton Municipal Golf Course when totality paused play.

"It was probably one of the best views," he said.

It was Whitaker's first time on the back nine.

"I couldn't find hole 12 because it got dark, so I waited until it got light again," he said.

Gary Manton left work early Monday to book a tee time for he and his wife TJ. They came prepared with eclipse glasses and jackets.

"I couldn't get over the temperature drop," Gary said.

They were on the 13th hole.

TJ said her equilibrium felt off.

"It was really weird, but all in all it was pretty," she said.

Gary saw the lights come on at the Indiana Department of Transportation garage along Indiana 28.

A round of golf during a total solar eclipse called for an ice cream date.

Worth it

Wettstein was somewhere west of Lafayette but wasn't entirely sure where.

They opted to take the back roads home. Sheboygan was the destination but there was no hurry, especially given the major routes were slammed.

She said traffic was at a standstill on Interstate 65 and Indiana 30.

About three hours had passed since the eclipse. The car ride gave time to reflect.

"It was awesome," Wettstein said. "It was something everyone needs to see. It felt like when it was totality, it felt really eerie to me."

The sky prior to totality reminded her son Henry of how Canadian forest fire smoke made the sky back home look hazy.

Mary Louise Lillian expected it to be darker at totality. Still though, the eclipse was a profound moment.

"Brought a tear to my eye," she said. "It was awesome to take the glasses off."

Moments after totality, the sun returned. The street lights flicked off. Playground fun resumed. Many headed to their cars.

The Lillian family stuck around, enjoying family time.

"I liked it," Rose said, eyeing a toad in the grass. "It was fun."

This story has been updated with correct spelling of Wettstein.

Spencer Durham can be reached at 765-454-8598, by email at spencer.durham@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @Durham_KT.